1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic thin film and more particularly, to a magnetic thin film consisting essentially of Fe, Al and Si and also containing nitrogen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In magnetic recording apparatus such as, for example, video tape recorders (VTRs), researches are being made towards increasing the recording density and the frequency of the recording signals. In keeping pace with the tendency towards high density recording, so-called metal powder tapes making use of the powders of the ferromagnetic metals, such as Fe, Co or Ni, as magnetic powders, or so-called evaporated metal tapes in which the ferromagnetic metal material is deposited on the base film, are also used as the magnetic recording medium. By reason of the high coercive force Hc of said magnetic recording medium, head materials of the magnetic head for both recording and replaying are also required to have a high saturation magnetic flux density Bs. For instance, the ferrite material used frequently is low in saturation magnetic flux density Bs, whereas permalloy presents a problem in abrasion resistance.
On the other hand, in keeping pace with the above described tendency towards high density recording, researches are also made towards reducing the track width of the magnetic patterns on the magnetic recording medium, and the magnetic heads are required to be correspondingly narrow in track width.
It has been suggested to use a so-called composite type magnetic head wherein insulating films and magnetic thin film to be used subsequently as the magnetic core are alternately applied to a non-magnetic substrate, such as ceramic substrate so as to be used as track parts. It has been suggested to use a so-called thin film head in which the magnetic thin film and the electrically conductive thin films are deposited with the intermediary of thin insulation films for providing a multi-layered structure. Thus the general attention is directed to a Sendust alloy thin film consisting essentially of Fe, Al and Si as magnetic thin films employed in this type of magnetic heads.
Because of its high saturation magnetic flux density Bs and relatively high hardness, the Sendust alloy thin film can be applied to the magnetic recording head which can record the signals on the magnetic recording medium having high coercive force, such as the aforementioned metal powder tape.
However, while being of relatively high hardness, the Sendust alloy thin film is inferior e.g., to ferrite in abrasion resistance and, being a metal material, it is relatively easy to rust.
In this connection, method were devised in which elements of Ti, Cr or Nb or platinum group were added to the Sendust alloy thin film besides main components, that is, Fe, Al and Si, for preventing the occurrence of rust and elevating the hardness and abrasion resistance.
However, it has been shown that addition of the aformentioned elements may cause saturation magnetic flux density Bs of the Sendust alloy thin film to be lowered. According to our experiments, the saturation magnetic flux density of the Sendust alloy thin film free of the aforementioned additives amount to ca. 11000 Gauss, whereas the saturation magnetic flux density of the Sendust alloy thin film containing these additives amounts to ca. 9000 Gauss. Such reduction in the saturation magnetic flux density Bs is unfavorable with the magnetic recording medium having the high coercive force Hc such as metal powder tape.
In addition, when the metal material such as Sendust alloy thin film is used for the core of the magnetic head, there is presented a drawback that magnetic permeability is lowered in the high frequency region on account of the eddy current loss and hence a sufficient reproducing output is not achieved in the high frequency region.
It has also been suggested to replace the Sendust alloy thin film by non-crystalline magnetic alloys (so-called amorphous magnetic alloys) that are high in saturation magnetic flux density Bs and are not affected in magnetic permeability in the high frequency region. However, these non-crystalline magnetic alloys are unstable at high temperatures and are deteriorated markedly in magnetic permeability due to prolonged heating or heat cycles with a resultingly lowered reproducing efficiency. Above all, the materials can not be subjected to a temperature higher than 500.degree. C. for prolonged time, because the materials can be crystallized under these conditions.
It is therefore not preferred to use the amorphous magnetic alloys for the preparation of magnetic heads which may involve the processing step at a temperature higher than 500.degree. C., such as glass bonding.